Nike to Sponsor Hip Hop & Contemporary Arts Programs for Young People at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Building upon the success of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ (LCPA’s) FREE and Choose-What-You-Pay access models – which have helped welcome hundreds of thousands of audience members over the past two years, many new to Lincoln Center – Nike will generously donate $2 Million in support of LCPA’s Hip Hop and contemporary arts programming for young people, as well as access programs across campus that engage students with jazz, opera, ballet, and orchestral music.
Lincoln Center Presents’ year-round programming across genres includes a focus on Hip Hop, most notably recently this summer in a week of celebratory events marking the 50th anniversary of the genre.
Moving forward, Nike’s sponsorship will support LCPA programs for young people including:
- Electric Root Presents: The Sound of (Black) Music, which brings together gospel, funk, soul, and Afrobeat in a concert reimagining of the beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, curated by Michael Mwenso and Jono Gasparro;
- a Hip Hop series offered at the David Rubenstein Atrium each month this spring, curated by Xavier “X” Jernigan;
- Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival at Lincoln Center, a celebration of New York City’s extraordinary club, street, and social dance artists that features commissioned projects resourced long-term from studio-to-stage by Works & Process. Artists include Dance is Life, LayeRhythm, Underground Uptown Ball, Ladies of Hip-Hop, Ephrat Asherie Dance, It’s Showtime NYC!, The Beatbox House, MasterZ at Work Dance Family, and Les Ballet Afrik. Part of the global performing arts gathering, JanArtsNYC;
- an upcoming Hip Hop education conference and hackathon; as well as additional programs across the spring and summer to be announced in the coming months.
“We believe in the power of movement and cultural expression to change the world,” said Scott Uzzell, Vice President and General Manager of Nike North America. “We’ll join with LCPA – a place where creativity, culture, and movement shine – to unlock access to the performing arts for kids and teens across the five boroughs.”
“We are grateful to Nike for its shared vision of cultural access for all and its investment in the next generation of arts audiences,” said Henry Timms, President and CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. “Core to our mission is ensuring the arts are central to the lives of young people across New York City, and to break down as many barriers as possible to do so. Nike’s support will help bring the arts to tens of thousands of young people across the City.”
Additional programs supported include:
- Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz for Young People’s Concert Series, narrated hour-long concerts as part of the Jazz for Young People program, which serves thousands of kids and families each season.
- The Metropolitan Opera’s Open Rehearsals for Students, providing students in the tri-state area the opportunity to attend final dress rehearsals live at the Metropolitan Opera House.
- New York City Ballet’s New York City Public School Residencies, which engage, support, and inspire students in New York City and annually serve thousands of elementary students in 40 public schools across all boroughs.
- The New York Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concerts for Schools, empowering teachers to enrich student engagement through a guided – but flexible – curriculum to support preparing students for a live orchestral concert.
Visit lincolncenter.org to learn more.